What Are They In Spanish? | Pronouns, Gender And Context

In Spanish, “they” usually appears as ellos or ellas, and the right choice depends on gender, number, formality, and real context.

If you have ever typed “What Are They In Spanish?” into a search box, you know that a single answer does not solve every situation.

English uses one form, they, for people, objects, animals, and even for a single person whose gender you do not state. Spanish splits that idea across several pronouns and structures.

They In Spanish Pronouns And Real Usage

When someone asks for a Spanish version of they, most teachers begin with the subject pronouns ellos and ellas. These words stand in for people or things that carry the action of the verb.

Ellos usually refers to a group that includes at least one man or a mix of men and women. Ellas refers to a group that is grammatically feminine, which might mean a group of women or a group of nouns marked as feminine.

• Ellos viven en Madrid. – They live in Madrid. (mixed or unknown group)
• Ellas estudian medicina. – They study medicine. (group of women)

Spanish can drop the subject pronoun once the verb already tells you who acts. In spoken language, people often skip ellos or ellas if the meaning stays clear.

They For Things And Animals

In English, they can refer to people or objects. Spanish sticks to grammatical gender. Masculine plural nouns tend to pair with ellos, while feminine plural nouns tend to pair with ellas, even if you talk about things.

• Los libros son viejos. Ellos ya no sirven. – The books are old. They are no longer useful.
• Las mesas son pesadas. Ellas casi no se mueven. – The tables are heavy. They hardly move.

Native speakers sometimes avoid repeating ellos or ellas with objects and move straight to the verb.

They Versus You All

English learners often confuse they with you all when speaking Spanish. In many regions, ustedes is the normal pronoun for “you all,” but its verb form looks the same as the form for ellos and ellas.

• Ellos trabajan aquí. – They work here.
• Ustedes trabajan aquí. – You all work here.

Context, tone, and earlier phrases in the conversation tell you whether a sentence talks about a separate group or the people you speak to.

What Are They In Spanish? Common Answers And Mistakes

There is no single translation where you can plug in they every time; Spanish offers a set of forms, and each piece fits a specific role.

The most common choices look like this:

• Ellos / ellas – they as subject.
• Los / las – them as direct object.
• Les – them as indirect object in many regions.
• Ustedes – you all, not truly they, but easy to mix up.
• Ellas for groups of women or grammatically feminine nouns.
• Ellos for mixed groups or grammatically masculine nouns.

Common mistakes come from using one form for every case, such as saying *ellos for both subject and object.

Broad Ways To Say They In Spanish

The next table gives a wide view of the main forms that can match the English idea of they. It mixes subject, object, and regional use so that you can see them in one place.

English Meaning	Spanish Form	Typical Context
They (people, mixed group)	ellos	Subject pronoun for mixed or masculine group
They (group of women)	ellas	Subject pronoun for a group of women
They (things, masculine plural)	ellos	Refers to masculine plural nouns like los libros
They (things, feminine plural)	ellas	Refers to feminine plural nouns like las mesas
They / them as people	ellos / ellas / los / las	Choice depends on subject or object role in the sentence
Them as indirect object	les	Gives something to them or says something to them
You all (treated like they in verb forms)	ustedes	Plural you in Latin America and polite plural you in Spain
They with gender neutral intent	elles	Emerging form in some groups; not part of standard grammar

How Gender And Number Shape The Spanish They

Spanish pronouns carry gender and number marks that line up with the nouns they replace. Grammar books from the Royal Spanish Academy explain that pronouns like ellos and ellas point to participants in the sentence and match the group they stand for.

You pick the form that corresponds to the group in front of you or the group mentioned earlier. That choice then controls verb endings and adjective forms.

Agreement With Verbs

Third person plural pronouns pair with third person plural verb forms. Speakers often omit the subject pronoun, yet the verb still carries the idea of they.

• Ellos comen temprano. – They eat early.
• Comen temprano. – They eat early. (subject understood)

Agreement With Adjectives And Past Participles

Adjectives and some past participles also change with gender and number. When the subject is ellos, you use masculine plural forms by default. With ellas, you use feminine plural forms.

• Ellos están cansados. – They are tired. (group includes at least one man)
• Ellas están cansadas. – They are tired. (group of women)
• Los documentos están firmados. – The documents are signed. They are ready.

The Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes includes this pattern among the core grammar points for early levels.

When Spanish Drops The Pronoun

Unlike English, Spanish does not require an explicit subject every time. Once the context is clear, speakers conjugate the verb and skip ellos o ellas.

• ¿Tus padres vienen? – Are your parents coming?
• Sí, llegan mañana. – Yes, they arrive tomorrow. (no pronoun)

This habit, known as a “null subject” system, lets the verb ending carry the idea of they.

Regional And Formal Variations For They

Pronoun choice also depends on the part of the Spanish speaking world you are dealing with. One classic example is the split between vosotros and ustedes.

Vosotros And Ustedes

In Spain, many speakers use vosotros for informal “you all” and ustedes for polite “you all.” Both take their own verb forms. In Latin America, people almost always use ustedes for any plural you, and the form vosotros shows up mainly in textbooks or older texts.

Resources on pronouns from the Diccionario panhispánico de dudas describe this contrast and point out that ustedes still pairs with third person plural verb forms.

The result is that the same verb ending can stand next to ellos, ellas, or ustedes. Your ear learns to connect meaning and grammar inside each conversation.

Formal They For People You Address Directly

In many Latin American countries, speakers treat ustedes as the normal plural you even in relaxed settings with friends or family. That habit blurs the line between a distant they and a friendly you all.

When you translate from English, ask yourself whether the group you mention includes the listener. If it does, ustedes usually fits. If the group stands apart from the listener, ellos or ellas usually fits better.

Gender Neutral Moves Around They

Spanish grammar has long based its plural forms on a masculine versus feminine split, and some speakers now use new patterns that reflect a wider range of gender identities.

One well known proposal is elle in the singular and elles in the plural. Guides on gender neutral Spanish pronouns describe forms like elle, nosotres, and elles that replace the traditional endings with the letter e.

The Royal Spanish Academy still treats ellos and ellas as the standard third person plural pronouns and does not include elles as an official entry.

Practical Tips To Choose The Right Spanish They

Once you understand the pieces, you can pick the right Spanish form of they in real speech or writing. These simple tips give you a fast decision path.

Step One: Are You Talking About People Or Things?

If the group consists of people, check who is inside. If there is at least one man or a person who uses masculine grammar, default to ellos. If the group consists only of women or people who use feminine forms, go with ellas. For things, match the gender of the noun in Spanish.

Step Two: Subject Role Or Object Role?

Ask whether they carries out the action or receives the action. As the subject, you usually want ellos or ellas. As a direct object, you use los or las. As an indirect object, you turn to les in many regions, though you will also meet local habits and pronoun blends.

Step Three: Are You Speaking To The Group?

English often uses they for people who stand apart from the speaker. When you talk directly to a group in Spanish, though, you switch to ustedes in almost all Spanish speaking countries, or to vosotros in informal settings in much of Spain.

Step Four: Can Context Replace The Pronoun?

If a pronoun feels repetitive, you can let the verb ending carry the idea of they. This habit keeps your Spanish natural and avoids constant echoes of ellos and ellas in every line.

English Sentence	Spanish Sentence	Notes
They live here.	Ellos viven aquí.	Mixed or unknown group, pronoun shown for clarity
They are my friends.	Ellas son mis amigas.	Group of women
They called yesterday.	Ellos llamaron ayer.	They as subject, pronoun can drop in context
I saw them yesterday.	Los vi ayer.	Them as direct object, masculine or mixed group
I wrote to them.	Les escribí.	Them as indirect object
You all are late.	Ustedes llegan tarde.	Plural you, verb form matches ellos and ellas
They are tired. (gender neutral)	Elle está cansade.	Non standard gender neutral form that some speakers use

Short daily reading or listening in Spanish helps your ear link each pronoun with the right verb and adjective forms over time.

As you practice, you will notice that Spanish spreads the work across pronouns, verb endings, and context instead of leaning on they in every sentence.